Painting an Aluminum PowerBook

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iantm's picture
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Painting an Aluminum PowerBook

Has anyone painted any of the aluminum PowerBook G4's (12, 15,17")? I've been thinking about painting my 15" black. I've always had a soft spot fot the black PowerBooks. Has anyone done this, and if so, how involved is it?

- Iantm

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Nice...

Guess it would look nice to have a green painted powerbook. But I think you will have to brush it first a lot before start painting it. Can't be that hard!

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Sand

You shuold find the finest grit sandpaper and sand it down to bare metal.

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Re: Painting an Aluminum PowerBook

Has anyone painted any of the aluminum PowerBook G4's (12, 15,17")? I've been thinking about painting my 15" black. I've always had a soft spot fot the black PowerBooks. Has anyone done this, and if so, how involved is it?

If you want good results, it's very involved indeed. There's a company that specializes in exactly this; if you don't already have access to the necessary skills and equipment, that may be a better way to go than ruining a new powerbook with a rattlecan of rustoleum.

http://www.colorwarepc.com

http://www.colorwarepc.com/_inventoryImages/images/hi_def_powerbook/large/carbon2.jpg

-vga4life

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I have the case in mind

I have a spare aluminum enclosure for my PowerBook, and since I am ACDT and ACPT, I know the innards of the machine better than I know the community I live in.

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ahh...

Well, if you already have a spare enclosure, I'd talk to auto paint shops in your area until you find one that's got experience with prepping and painting aluminum and is willing to do such a small job. There's no replacement for a clean paint booth and LPHV spray equipment.

-vga4life

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Why not anodize it?

Why not anodize it?

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That's a great idea

Taking that into account, the possibilities are endless. Hmmm, this brings me to more of a what than a how. Do I want to anodize it black, or chrome it? Since there's a good amount of metal work that goes on in the region I live in, this is even more viable.

Thanks Dr. Bob

- iantm

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Plus anodizing is much toughe

Plus anodizing is much tougher than paint. Especially black anodize.

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can you dye already-anodized Al?

your AlBook is already anodized . . . but perhaps already-anodized Al can be dyed?

dan k

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No you'll need to have the ol

No you'll need to have the old anodizing stripped off first (it can be done chemically easy enough)

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powdercoating?

How about powdercoating it? Thats very durable too... more so than
"rustoleum" etc... Hmmm me thinks its time to get a spare body for my 12" powerbook and start playing Smile

HWgeek

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Just rember you have to get a

Just rember you have to get all the plastic off the Al first!! Powdercoating is baked on! It would melt the plastic too. ( that's all powdercoat is anyway...)

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case painting 101 tutorial

I'd posted a link to excellent tutorial on case painting months ago in another thread. The link has since died.

After reading this thread last night, I did some searching around and found another one that's just as good.

Mirror-finish results with a rattle-can: Linky.

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Cherry Red Apple

Yes, I painted mine. After decasing - or, rather, de-internalizing - my 12" Al. PB, I went the krylon spray can route. Looked fantastic at first.

Cover still looks pretty good, but 9 months later the rest is showing great signs of wear. I've bought a new case (bottom/lcd cover/top + track pad) and am looking for new options.

Thinking that find grain sand paper, auto primer, black spray + a clear coat should do a much better job than my previous "cover it in red and snap it back together"

Anyone else done this and have a few better tips? Non-silver Al. PB's are a great thing.

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